Commander
by bookworm1945
Summary: A series of Erwin-centric oneshots, as seen through Levi's eyes. Focuses on loyalty, Erwin's amazing nature, his unpopularity. Most will likely take place before Eren and Co. join up. No slash.
1. Buffer

_buff·er_

_noun_

_1. a person or thing that prevents incompatible or antagonistic people or things from coming into contact with or harming each other._

* * *

It was the stench that hit him the most.

He was used to the smell of rotting flesh; the slums were hardly considerate of the dead, and sometimes a body would linger for more than a day before somebody found it and dragged it to the furnaces. This odor, however, was somehow more intense.

The Recon Corps soldiers hadn't been long dead; they had travelled scarcely a day before the titans took them by surprise, killing several before the newly-made Commander Erwin had managed to direct the formation to safety while the rearguard took care of the small horde. Levi had been part of the rearguard, and the same warm sun that caused their dead to reek also served to dry the blood on his cloak into stiff patches. _I'll never get it clean now_, Levi mused resentfully.

Maybe it was the way the wind changed direction, hitting him suddenly with the smell of death. Maybe it was the way the stench of the sweat and grime of the living around him mixed with that of rotting flesh in an interesting new cocktail of scents.

Levi wasn't sure what cause such an intense odor, but he knew he hated it. He didn't even have to look at the faces around him to know that his comrades loathed it just as much as he did. It was a stark reminder of their dead, their friends and soldiers, who came home riding piled in a cart instead of astride a horse.

Erwin rode just ahead of him, back straight and head held high as they rode beneath the gate to greet the condemning stares beyond. There was always a crowd when the Recon Corps returned, family and friends awaiting loved ones, curious bystanders who were in the area, and, inevitably, critics who came to see how much of their precious tax-money had been wasted on men now dead.

Levi watched the back of the man in front of him for signs of weakness as cries of relatives searching for their loved ones began, as men with bellies almost as big as their egos began to quietly criticize the way the Recon Corps ran, as men and women who had lost someone shouted damning accusations at Erwin and his captains.

Not a flinch, not a slouch, could be seen in Erwin's large figure.

* * *

The casualties weren't as bad this time, which some could count as a blessing, but dead bodies were dead bodies.

The central command figures seemed unusually bloody and grimy as the Recon Corps went under the massive wall. A pair of Abnormals had wreaked havoc on the formation, managing to penetrate as far as the command unit before they could be put down. Again, Levi had played a key role.

This time also, Levi watched Erwin's back as they came into sight of the crowd, gathered not so much as to welcome them home than to condemn the waste of lives. The foremost horses were still under the shadow of the wall, allowing just silhouettes of those in front to be seen.

Erwin's silhouette was clear to Levi, stark and alone as they approached the waiting people. Levi knew that whatever anyone threw at the commander, it was nothing that couldn't be weathered and put aside. He had seen Erwin stay strong in the face of hundreds of condemning faces, each one hating him, and knew that Erwin would do what he needed to do regardless of the welcome he would receive at home.

Still, Levi felt a measure of disgust rise up in him as he surveyed the horde of bitter citizens. Thus, it wasn't so much for Erwin's benefit as it was for Levi's spite that the short man spurred his horse until he was walking alongside his commander. Out of the corner of his eye, Levi saw Erwin glance at him in faint surprise, and smirked to himself. Almost so slightly that Levi didn't notice, Erwin's grip on his reins loosened in imperceptible increments, his white-knuckled grip relaxing as the pair rode out in the open ground.

The shouts, the cries, the accusations, they were still there. Except now there was a buffer to dampen the blows, to preserve Erwin's strength, to let him know the whole world wasn't against him. The fact that the buffer was barely five feet tall hardly mattered at all.


	2. Hero

_"__Even if everyone hates him for it, that's the sacrifice he's making. He's not being a hero. He's being something more."__ -Alfred Pennyworth_

* * *

Levi had been in the Recon Corps for almost two years now, but it felt like longer.

Faces came and went at a depressingly frequent rate. Fresh recruits had recently joined the Corps, but the replenished ranks didn't negate the losses felt in the last outing. Even now, soldiers went about their duties with grim faces, grief for their fallen comrades still fresh.

Levi didn't have a problem with new recruits, for the most part. They were bratty little kids until they went on their first expedition, but it takes a certain kind of character to choose the Recon Corps. Of course, there were exceptions to every rule.

It was drawing close to night when Levi walked past the recruits' barracks. They were typically noisy, disturbing the peaceful evening as only annoying teenagers can. Most were indoors at this time of day, but Levi noticed a small group in between two barracks, enjoying the cool twilight air and chatting among themselves before lights-out was called.

Levi ignored the upbeat gathering in the same way a cynic avoids an optimist. Laughter erupted from the recruits in the alley. _Annoying as hell_, Levi thought irritably, shooting a glare at the offending teens. The few that noticed him immediately fell silent, but the rest continued laughing and listening to one boy in particular, a tall sandy-haired recruit.

His words became clearer as the chatter lessened, cutting through the dusk air with impertinence. "...don't see how a guy like that can be called a leader. We're gonna be out there operating on blind faith, trusting him to at least give the right orders, if he's not gonna fight, but have you _seen_ the wagons of dead bodies they bring back each time?" Levi stopped walking, halted in his tracks by a growing interest in the youth's words.

The boy was certainly on his soapbox now, and he went on eagerly. "My father always talked about how the Commander flaunted the rules at every turn, but this is stupid. Do you remember when everybody was in an uproar because Commander Erwin sacrificed over fifty soldiers just to secure one command post? How little do our lives mean to him? I mean, I wasn't expecting him to be some kind of hero, but this is s-" his words were cut off as his legs were swept out from under him with a powerful kick.

The surrounding recruits stared in shock, none daring to interfere as Captain Levi dealt a savage kick to the speaker's midsection. Belligerent protests turned into pained coughing as the sandy-haired youth tried to regain his breath. Levi reached down and picked up the boy from where he lay on the ground, his strong arms grasping the boy's shirt and slamming him against the wall.

"I'm horrified that you aren't one of our officers yet," Levi stated calmly, cutting off kid's shocked expression with a knee to the crotch. "Your wisdom and empathy for the common soldier would doubtless make you invaluable to humanity." The words came out of Levi's mouth in a quiet, observational way, as if utterly innocent to the violence being done to the young recruit. Abruptly, he released the boy, allowing him to slump to the ground in pain and looking at the other recruits with a neutral expression.

"After listening to you, I can tell Erwin obviously has no idea what he's doing. I mean, allowing soldiers to die? What man could sleep at night after throwing away lives to achieve his own goal?" A few of the brighter youths shied back at Levi's mocking tone, but a few of the denser ones actually nodded in agreement as the veiled sarcasm went over their heads.

"But here's the thing, you shits. It's not his job to care. His job is to help reclaim Wall Maria, and if he can't sleep at night because soldiers died following his orders, that's his problem." Levi's words were laced with venom, although only trace of his fury could be found in his face.

"He cares for you damned whelps a hell of a lot more than I ever will, but he's willing to let you die if it will serve mankind. He's willing to stomach your mothers' screams and your fathers' judgment and his own _idiotic _guilt if it means getting closer to the goal." By now the group of teens looked thoroughly cowed by the acidic tone, though the boy on the ground was starting to rise, eyeing Levi resentfully.

Levi dealt him another kick in the sternum, harder and crueler than the last. "So you see, you're right," Levi stated, bending down so the brat could hear him clearly. "He's not a hero.

"He's something more."


End file.
